Due to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations, U.S. third-party settlement organisations and payment processors, including Amazon, are required to file Form 1099-K for taxpayer sellers based in the U.S. who meet the following thresholds in a calendar year:

More than $20,000 in unadjusted gross sales, and

More than 200 transactions.

If you are not a U.S.-based seller or do not meet both of these thresholds, you will not receive a Form 1099-K.

IRS regulations require sellers based in the U.S. who are non-U.S. taxpayers to provide Form W-8BEN to Amazon in order to be exempt from U.S. tax reporting requirements.

Additionally, changes in state tax law require Amazon to report unadjusted gross sales of $600 or more to sellers with addresses in Massachusetts or Vermont. There are no transaction thresholds for state reporting.

Providing your taxpayer identification information to Amazon

Amazon requires that all sellers based in the U.S. complete the U.S. Tax Identity Information Interview.

You can provide your information to Amazon by clicking here to use our self-service interview process that will guide you through entering your taxpayer information and validating your W-9 or W-8BEN form. To fulfil the IRS requirements as efficiently as possible, answer all questions and enter all information requested during the interview.

Avoid misspellings or entering incorrect Tax Identification Numbers, both of which can result in an invalidated tax form. Move forwards or backwards through the interview process at your own pace. Do not worry if you are not sure which form (W-9 or W-8BEN) applies to you. The answers you provide during the interview will automatically determine that for you. To help protect the security of your taxpayer identification information, do not disclose it by email or over the phone.

Important: Information on this page does not constitute tax, legal, or other professional advice and must not be used as such. To find out how this new legislation will affect your business, or if you have other questions, please contact your tax, legal or other professional adviser.

Frequently Asked Questions

Tax interview

I am a U.S. taxpayer. What information do I need to provide to Amazon?

By completing the Tax Interview in your seller account, you will be providing Amazon the appropriate tax identity in the form of a W-9 or W-8BEN form.

For U.S. taxpayers, a TIN is required by the IRS for the administration of tax laws. In most cases, your TIN is either an Employer Identification Number (EIN) or a Social Security Number (SSN).

I am a foreign seller with a U.S. address but not a U.S. taxpayer. Do I need to provide any information to Amazon?

Yes, even if you are a non-U.S. taxpayer, you still need to provide us with information and the responses you give to the tax interview wizard questions will create the appropriate tax form on your behalf.

IRS regulations require non-U.S. taxpayers to provide Amazon with the Form W-8BEN in order to be exempt from U.S. tax reporting requirements.

I am not going to come even close to hitting the reporting threshold. Why does Amazon require my tax identity?

All sellers on Amazon.com, regardless of the number of transactions they have in a calendar year, are required to complete the Tax Information Interview.

I received an email stating that my Form W-8 is expiring or has already expired. How do I give Amazon new or updated information?

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires that Amazon maintain a current Form W-8 for merchants, individuals or entities who are not U.S. persons. If you have received an email from Amazon stating that your Form W-8 is expiring or has expired, you must complete an updated Tax Interview to continue selling . To access the Tax Interview, see instructions here. If you are a non-U.S. person, failure to maintain a current Form W-8 will result in suspension of your selling privileges.

I received an error message when trying to complete the Tax Interview. What should I do?

The information provided during the Tax Interview needs to match the IRS records.

If you are completing the U.S. Tax Identity Information Interview as an individual, use the information that appears on your Social Security card.

Misspelling your name, not including your middle initial or middle name, or entering an incorrect Tax Identification Number may cause validation of your form to fail.

If you are completing the information as a business, use the name that appears on the top line of the address on your CP575A notice from the IRS.

U.S. Person:

Individual: Use the name that appears on your Social Security Card.

Business: Use the same name and Taxpayer Identification Number that appears on your entity’s tax return.

If you selected any type of federal tax classification other than "Individual/sole proprietor", use the following depending on the type of federal tax classification that you selected:

If you are a non-profit under Internal Revenue Code sections 501(c) or 501(d), select “Other” as your federal tax classification and then select the first option, “An organization exempt from tax under section 501(a), any IRA, or a custodial account under section 403(b)(7) if the account satisfies the requirements of section 401(f)(2)” under the “Other type” drop-down.

Refer to the code section that states under 501(a), “An organization described in subsection (c) or (d) shall be exempt from taxation…” Therefore, by saying that you are exempt under (a), you are saying that you are exempt under either (c) or (d).

Non-U.S. Person:

Individual and Business: Use the name that appears on your income tax returns.

Tax status

I have provided my tax identity. How long will it take to see if it is valid?

After you update your tax identity information, the Legal Entity section of your Account Info page will display “Provided and Pending Validation”. If we find that your information does not match IRS records, we will send you an email with instructions on how to proceed. If you choose to post your hard copy document instead of consenting to electronic signatures, we will require 10-15 business days to process it upon receipt.

If we find that your information does not match IRS records, we will send you an email with instructions on how to proceed.

The validation process can take up to eight weeks from the time Amazon receives your information, either electronically or via mail, if you ticked the box that states “I have received my EIN/SSN within 60 Days” while taking the tax interview.

If you choose to post a hard copy of your documents instead of consenting to electronic signatures, it can take 10-15 business days to process them once the form has been received.

I received an email stating that my tax identity information is invalid. I thought I provided my correct information. Can you tell me why it came back invalid?

We do not know exactly why your tax identity information came back as invalid, but here are some things to consider:

If you are completing the tax identity information as an individual, use the information that appears on your Social Security card.

Misspelling your name, not including your middle initial or middle name, or entering an incorrect Tax Identification Number may cause validation of your form to fail.

If you are completing the information as a business, use the name that appears on the top line of the address on your CP575A notice from the IRS.

If you provided tax identity information and it came back invalid, you have 30 days from the date of the email from Amazon to correct the tax identity information. If you do not provide corrected tax identity information within 30 days, your Amazon selling privileges will be suspended.

Tax form 1099-K

When will I receive my Form 1099-K?

Tax forms will be sent out by 31 January. For accurate delivery, make sure that your contact information is updated no later than 31 December. If you sign up for e-delivery, your tax forms will be emailed to you by 31 January. To sign up for e-delivery, you must retake the Tax Interview and provide an e-signature at the end. For instructions on how to access the Tax Interview, click here.

Where do I find my Form 1099-K that Amazon issued for my seller account?

You can find the form in your seller account. From the Reports section, select Tax Document Library, then the appropriate year, and then Form 1099-K.

Are there instructions on how to use the Form 1099-K for my tax return?

To find out how this legislation and Form 1099-K affect your business, or if you have other questions, contact your tax, legal or other professional advisor.

How do I save a copy of the Form 1099-K to my computer?

From the Reports section in your seller account, select Tax Document Library, then the appropriate year, and then Form 1099-K. Click the Download PDF link. To save the form to your computer, while it is open in Adobe Reader, click File, then Save As, and then PDF. Select a location on your computer and click Save.

I believe there is an error on the Form 1099-K I was issued. How do I get an updated Form 1099-K?

If the error is related to:

Incorrect address:To update your address, you must retake the Tax Interview. Make sure that you provide an e-signature at the end for faster processing. Instructions for completing the tax interview are providedhere. Note that this will only update your address for tax purposes.

Incorrect tax ID or name: Your IRS Form 1099-K was issued based on the tax information on file at the time the payment was made. To make an update, you must retake the Tax Interview. Make sure that you provide an e-signature at the end for faster processing. Instructions for completing the tax interview are provided here.

Amount: If you are referencing your bank account or your settlement report from Amazon, note that according to IRS regulations, the amounts listed on your IRS Form 1099-K represent the adjusted gross sales that occurred and not the actual bank transfers. Unadjusted gross sales represent your total sales unadjusted for fees or refunds. The amount is the total that buyers paid for orders, even if orders were later refunded.

Will I receive a Form 1099-K for my account even though my unadjusted gross sales are below $20,000 and my transactions are below 200?

For each calendar year, if you had at least $20,000 in unadjusted gross sales and more than 200 transactions, a Form 1099-K will be provided to you. If you did not meet both of these thresholds, you will not receive a Form 1099-K. We will track your unadjusted gross sales and number of transactions. You will also be able to tell if you have exceeded the thresholds by monitoring your unadjusted gross sales and number of transactions in your account.

Additionally, recent changes in state tax law require Amazon to report unadjusted gross sales of $600 or more to sellers with addresses in Massachusetts or Vermont. There are no transaction thresholds for the state reporting.

I did not receive my Form 1099-K in the mail. What address was it mailed to?

The Form 1099-K was mailed to the address you provided in the tax interview. You can also retrieve the form from your seller account. From the Reports section, select Tax Document Library, then the appropriate year, and then Form 1099-K. Click the Download PDF link.

If you would like to update your delivery preferences to ensure that you receive your forms via e-delivery, you must retake the Tax Interview and provide an e-signature at the end for faster processing. Instructions for completing the tax interview are provided here.

Is the $20,000 calculated based on net sales or gross sales?

The $20,000 is calculated based on unadjusted gross sales. Unadjusted gross sales means the total sales, unadjusted for fees or refunds. It is the amount the buyer paid for an order even if the order is later refunded.

Unadjusted gross sales equals the amount the buyer paid for the order and includes sales proceeds, sales tax, and gift-wrap and shipping charges.

Does the gross sales amount not change if I refund an order?

No. When you make a sale, the order total becomes a permanent part of your unadjusted gross sales for the year. Even if you later refund the entire amount a buyer paid for an order, the order total is still included in your unadjusted gross sales calculation. The IRS regulations require that no adjustments to gross transaction amounts be made. Please seek advice from a tax professional to understand the appropriate adjustments when preparing your tax return.

Here is an example that includes a discount to the buyer, an Amazon fee, and an eventual full refund to the buyer:

The gross sales amount for the purposes of calculating annual gross sales is $105, even after the refund.

If I have multiple seller accounts with the same tax identification number and they exceed the thresholds when the account totals are combined, will you file Form 1099-K for my combined seller accounts?

Yes. Unadjusted gross sales and transaction volumes will be consolidated for all accounts that have the same Tax Identification Number (TIN).

Understanding transactional details

How do I find the summary level details of my unadjusted gross sales for a specific year?